Argus, The Homunculus

The silence brought about by Gray's statement made everyone in the room tense. Gray was openly communicating with all of us at the same time. His exact words transmitted to each of us as he continued. He thanked every single one of us, ending on me. "Finally, thank you Argus. The giants you order, and control. The coin you help bring in through your brothels. You perhaps do more for the Hive's future, than even I manage." He smiled bring a hand to his chest as he bowed towards me.

I felt the eyes of the others on me for a moment, before they returned to Gray. I started to say he was welcome, but felt something like envy from one of the others. So, this was his plan then? I let out a small laugh, "Gray, you need not thank me, or any of us. Everything I do, I do for our Queen and the glory of the Hive. I could see why you feel the need to thank us, given the mercy our Queen showed you by allowing you to join us." In the same manner that he did, I transmitted these thoughts to the others.

Gray winced at my statement, his eyes going to Clarice who flexed her fangs. The others quiet as they waited for Gray's response. He lowered his head, "Indeed, it was by our Queen's mercy that I stand where I am now. It was by her mercy that I followed her, and by her power that I never betrayed her. I respect our Queen, but more importantly I respect her wishes. This life I have lived for the Hive has been brief compared to the years I spent as a spider. Yet, this time has shown me things I know I would have never been able to consider."

I started to say something, but his eyes met mine. A wave of magic silencing me, as I didn't expect an attack. Had he harmed me, I would have ended him here, but he continued to speak. "No matter how much I do for the Hive, I understand I may never be seen as a part of it in the way those born from it are. The way I think and act, it may be seen as treasonous in some instances. Yet, I will never betray our Queen. The true betrayal comes from those that cling to her words with blind fervor, that seek to satisfy her every desire."

"She gave us everything! We are here because of her, and giving her our faith is the least we can do!" I felt the sentiment shared in every personality here. Even Scix lowering his head in agreement. The others clicking their mandibles, while Clarice cleaned her legs. She didn't understand it, she couldn't. Nor, could Gray ever truly appreciate the glory of our Hive.

Gray covered his mouth, shaking his head slowly. He took a slow breath, "This is what I was worried about. Argus, can you not see the pain your words might cause our Queen? Berry, can you not understand what I am saying? Scix?"|

Berry spoke, |"I will remain neutral in this argument. Though, we will step in against either party if you should choose to attack each other."|

Scix moved his hounds behind the rats, around the chair that sat empty. |"My Hive will side with the majority of the other Hives. Acting on impulse is unwise."| He looked at me for a second, as if asking me to calm down. It worked a little, but I was keeping my attention on Gray.

Rose spoke up, clearly sharing her opinion that probably mirrored Brick's and Silver's. |"This is a bit too complicated."| They weren't on our level yet.

Clarice finished her cleaning, and laid there silently. Watching everything with her eight eyes.

Gray lowered his head, "How interesting. Scix, what do you view as the majority exactly? If Berry made a decision to not be neutral how would that effect these talks?"

The rats turned to Gray, |"Majority of the personalities within this room. Berry has one vote, as does Clarice."|

Gray rubbed his chin, "That's an interesting way of saying you don't see a difference between those born from the Hive, and those brought into it."

Scix looked at me for a moment, before his rats bobbed their heads in unison. |"I understand where Argus is coming from. We were born from the fear and anger that outsiders caused our Hive. We were made to eliminate threats, and it is hard to put into words. To arrange into coherent thoughts, and express. The Queen took the life of one of my bodies for attacking Richard. To my knowledge I am the only one to have earned her ire in such a manner. Thus, I will refrain from acting without the others voting, unless the situation requires it."|

Rose chimed in, |"Gray squished me!"|

Gray chuckled a little, "You needed to get somewhere, and death was the quickest way at the time. Remember Rose?"

|"You still squished me, you jerk."| That's right, Rose. Gray is a jerk. I smiled to myself, thinking about why Scix said what he did.

Clarice spoke up, |"Isn't it time to end this farce Gray? Why exactly are we here? Surely it's not to waste time conversing about how we are outsiders to the Hive? None of them would dare attack us without proof we betrayed their Queen, and even the slower ones know that would be suicide at best."|

Gray was about to speak, when Brick finally spoke. |"We're here because the Queen has requested Gray hold this meeting."|

Everyone paused, Gray blinking in sync with me as we stared at Brick. He didn't offer more words, but Gray recovered first. |"May I ask how you came to this conclusion?"|

Brick was silent, probably considering his next words. It might all be an idle wish on his part, a hope that our Queen was somehow behind this. I understood it, a part of me wanted that to be the case. That this whole thing was some grand plan our Queen came up with. It just didn't make sense, there was no reason for us to do this when she could just contact us all directly. We didn't need to be here in person like this, we didn't have to do this. Everything could have continued on as normal, but Brick never said anything without a reason to. Even Gray was silently waiting for his answer.

The seconds turned into minutes, as Brick finally spoke again. |"The foundation of our Hive, the Queen. Spiders are mostly solitary, and Gray wouldn't waste a body being here unless asked. He has knowledge we don't, she talks to him in private. Tells him things we are not ready for. Gray's growth and respect, they support this idea. Our Queen is leaving us, isn't she?"|

The mood quickly became somber, as Scix's bodies trembled. I teared up as Gray didn't say anything, "Why?" Escaping my lips, as I turned to face the spider. "Is it because we weren't enough? Is it because we failed?" The others shared our sentiment, Clarice tensing a little at the unexpected news.

Gray looked down at the table, "No... there's more to it than that, but Brick is correct. Our Queen will be leaving us, not because of anything we did, or failed to do. It is because the ruler of Eclipse itself has given her no other choice."

"How long have you known this!? Why didn't you tell us!?" I could feel the others burning with these same questions. Even Clarice felt upset about the news that hit us so hard.

Gray bit his lip, looking at each of us, "Because she ordered me not to." He sounded sad, staring right at me. "She had me work with the false queen, without telling anyone. She had me do so many things, ordered me to keep so many secrets. Not because she didn't trust anyone here, but because she was saddened by your absolute faith in her." He revealed everything through our connection to each other. The memories he held back.

I grit my teeth glaring at her, "Liar!" None of us knew about the false queen. The reveal hurting, but I noticed Berry and Scix weren't as stunned as the rest of us. Scix explained it more, since his current form was made possible by learning from such a disgusting fake.

Gray put his hands on the table, "It's true! She doesn't want worshipers, she doesn't want us to just say yes to everything. She wants us to think for ourselves Argus! This goes for all of you!" He looked at everyone else, skipping Clarice who already thought the world of herself. "Please... believe me, what is the point in lying like this? Why would I hurt you with words like these!?" He rose out of his chair, hammering a fist down on the table.

I rose up to meet him, glaring right back at him, "Because it's easier to believe you're lying than her resenting us for our devotion!" I cried out, the anger in my voice gone. The pain I felt in my chest hurting and raw. I was crying, while the others marched. Their own take on this whole situation lost to me as I couldn't focus because of the pain I felt. My vision blurred by my tears, and yet something didn't feel right about this pain. As if it wasn't mine alone, I fought to continue standing, only barely managing to fall back into my chair.

I felt the others cry out, even Gray's voice trembling as he fell back into his chair. Our Queen's almost godly voice cutting through the pain. |"Gray's words are true, I do not need those that would sacrifice everything for a whim of mine. This pain you feel, it is what I have taken from the bugs you control."| I couldn't breathe, the edges of my vision fading to black, as I felt like I was drowning.

As suddenly as it came, the pain stopped. All of us twitching and gasping. The relief from that burden allowing us to recover. I felt something sticky and warm on my hands, and quickly inspected them. I had gripped the chair so hard, that my nails broke off. The skin on the tips of my fingers ground down and covered in blood. Gray's chair was splintered from the strength of his body. Some of Scix's bodies were seizing still. Even Clarice slowly struggled to regain her composure.

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Our Queen spoke again, |"To me, there is no difference between any of you born from the Hive, and those brought into it like Gray and Clarice. You are all a part of me, and I love you to the point that I have taken your pain so you could focus. In a couple days I will meet with the king of Eclipse for a false trial that will result in my exile from this kingdom. I suspect that I will not be able to interact with the city in any meaningful way, so I will be using the week I have left to help you deal with the pain I have kept from you. Please understand, that none of you have done anything wrong. That I cannot take any of you with me, since I need you here. Gray will explain my plans going forward."|

I cauterized the wounds on my fingers, as Gray struggle back to a standing position. He stole the chair closest to him, taking a few breaths. After everyone recovered enough, he leaned back with his eyes closed. He smiled, laughing a little, "Fighting each other, and doubting the our intentions because of something as simple as how we were born. It seems so silly compared to how much we must do."

It was a bitter thing to accept our Queen's words, but to her there was no difference between us and him, or even Clarice. We were all a part of this Hive. That didn't mean I had to like the jerk, and I sent as much to the bastard.

He chuckled, sitting in a more proper position. "Initially, it was planned to not have our Queen reveal she was listening to this conversation. Though I suppose we wasted enough time, or she felt it was needed to show what we can expect as she prepares for her departure. The plan is war amongst ourselves. To be more clear, a grand play so that our enemies may think that we are not united without our Queen."

He got up, pointing at me. "Argus, we are at war. I am currently moving my bodies around so that you cannot kill me." He pointed to Scix, "Scix, we are at war, but you are playing both sides since the information you provide is essential. You need more bodies to fully grow in strength for a chance to defeat either Argus or myself."

I swallowed hard, "We... we aren't going to kill each other, right?"

Gray threw up his hands, "In a physical sense yes. If you show me your heart, Argus, I will devour it to grow my strength. Because we hate each other too much for that. There can be only one queen, or king. Naturally when our true Queen returns she will look over who died and why. We will both become a part of her if any of us truly kills another member of the Hive."

Scix shook his head, |"This is a game then? Why are we doing this? Wouldn't it make the most sense to rally around Pandora?"|

Gray gave a snap, "Excellent question. I asked that very same one, and the Queen's answer was that this was to protect Pandora. She will not be involved in our conflict, and we will spend the week disconnecting from each other. Berry, you are a neutral party that no one knows about. We will be relying on your Berries to aid us in keeping our Hives maintained. Rose and Silver will work together top side, with Rose expanding into the outposts that are to be built outside Eclipse. A way for them to escape the conflict in a sense." Rose was relieved at the news.

Clarice spoke up, |"What about the rest of us? What part do we have in this supposed war?"|

Gray grinned a little, "After our Queen leaves, the three major factions are Argus, Scix, and Myself. The Hive cannot accept Clarice as a queen for obvious reasons, which means you will be moving between with messages so we can still talk. After our Queen leaves, we will not be able to connect with each other for obvious reasons. Only do such, if there is an emergency and your Hive is potentially going to die, or you feel you may be compromised."

Clarice scratched the table idly with her legs, |"Of course I would be reduced to something akin to a pet, scraping by between the parties."|

Gray nodded slowly, "I will be joining the Leeches, and gaining power from within their group. It is probably the most dangerous since Argus has manpower and coin already. I have to work my way up, while Scix will gather bodies and move between the gangs. Brick himself will just go silent and shut himself off. If Argus has extra bodies to give him, then she should so he can join the war in a more proper sense. Something akin to a trump card since he wouldn't be able to defend himself otherwise."

"I would like to take a second to remind all of you that we aren't out for the true death of our brothers or sisters. This is a bloody act, that begins once our Queen disconnects because of her exile. Berry will be top side for most of the time, moving through the Hives as needed and we will be able to connect with him to pass along emergency messages. Messages that aren't immediate, but too important to let Clarice pass along in a matter of weeks. He's supposed to be a piece of our Queen left behind to try and guide us, as well as awaken other personalities."

We slowly nodded, agreeing to the plan. Though I simply had to ask, "How does this protect Pandora, exactly?"

Gray smiled, "The Hive doesn't accept her as a surrogate Queen in the absence of our true one. She's rejected by the Hive, and making her own. It allows her the chance to learn with Cheshire, and she has been informed about what is happening and why. If anything, she knows more than all of us here. The Queen has plans for her, that I am not aware of. I suggest you all prepare since we'll be experiencing waves of pain as our Queen slowly helps us accommodate to her not taking it from us."

I got out of my chair, "Will we do something like this again?"

Gray shook his head, "Unlikely, save for negotiations when something important is struck. We'll make a few enemies, but this should cause parties like the Princess and Minotaur to not move against us. As it will show how vital our Queen is to our success. Robert will be in charge of his gang, as they expand outwards into the dead-zones. With that, this first and potentially last meeting is over!"

I started to walk away, fully expecting Gray to be the last to leave with a teleport. We'd probably discuss territories and other mundane things later. Then Rose spoke up, |"Wait, I still don't get why we're doing all of this."|

I chuckled a little, about to send my answer when I heard the others. Berry replied first, |"It's a test, to make sure we can work together even if we aren't connected via links."| That wasn't right, was it?

Clarice spoke up next, |"It's all a ruse to ensnare potential enemies and realize who we can trust, and who is better off dead."| Wait a minute... I turned back around.

Brick was next, |"More likely some combination of all our answers."| Yeah, what he said.

Rose marched her wings, |"Really? I thought it was to keep others from pestering Robert so he could scout for the Queen?"| I could see that actually... but it still fit with what I thought.

Silver finally spoke, his voice like a whisper. |"The best way to ensure at least one of us survives."| That was ominous, thanks Silver.

Scix had his rats on his hounds. |"More to distract our enemies and make them believe a lie so we can strike when they aren't ready. They'd naturally think our Queen couldn't get us all together as soon as she returns."| So this was what Gray meant, we were supposed to think differently so that we could come to our own answers like this. They saw things I hadn't considered.

I smiled a little, as Gray spoke. "None of us are wrong, and if you haven't figured it out yet, just think on it a bit more. You'll get there eventually, but I feel our Queen wants us to mainly understand we're in this together. That it doesn't matter how we perceive her plans, so long as we get results that benefit the Hive as a whole."

His explanation was just the worst, but that's just because he was the worst. I turned around sticking my tongue out at him. |"To protect Pandora, duh!"| I teleported away, disconnecting and laughing when I arrived in the safe house. Our Queen didn't want us to be loyal to her, she wanted us to be loyal to her ideals as we understood them. To talk it out like we just did, if we had problems, or simply didn't understand.

There was going to be a lot of work going forward, but at least I understood now. That pain that had been weighing down on me for the last few days was finally gone. We who were created by her were flawed, because our creator is flawed. Yet, those she has accepted should be accepted by us in turn. I am the shield, and I am meant to protect. Yet, I cannot protect everyone, because I am not strong enough. Until I can, I must pick and choose who receives my protection, and who's hand I must hold while they die.

This war was going to suck, because Gray and Scix were going to be bastards and probably pick off my girls on the streets. I needed to prepare for that and accept their loss before it happened. I couldn't make it seem like we were pretending to fight each other, since the other two will not hold back. I cannot afford to lose gnomes, which means preparing my best defenses there. The brothels could be rented out to local gangs for protection, which should mitigate those losses.

There was so much planning, and so many thoughts running through my head. That I failed to notice the two guys with a gag and sack creeping behind me. My vision went dark, as they dragged my body into an alley. Null magic forcing me to open the eyes of another body in a safe house close by. I shook my head, smiling at the men that made the worst mistake of their lives. A quick bite from the dispenser, and I was at the end of the alley waving at the two while my other body was limp and still on the ground.

The two were surprised, even as I bent down to pick up a rock. I tossed it in the air, heating it up until the stone was about to melt. A trick I learned from fighting Bral, as I guided the heat away from me. The bigger guy gave me a cocky grin saying something about two for the price of one. I threw the palm sized stone at the dumb ass, using the heat to propel it from behind like certain explosive knight used in his fights. The null magic field hit the rock as the heat radiated off of it. The momentum still there, when it struck the dumb ass in the shoulder.

A sickening pop as the thing dislocated echoed off the alley walls while I picked up another stone. The big guy went down, the shock of the strike knocking him out like the punk he was. The other thug gaped at me, before deciding to start running. I chased a few steps, before jets of flame allowed me to leap after him. He was the null magic user, and I fell on top of him tackling him to the ground. He screamed as we tumbled, my body getting bloody and scraped from the short fight. I ended up on top of him, pressing my weight onto his neck.

He struggled, nails scratching at my arms before he tried to slug me. I kept the pressure on his artery, as his strength waned. A few people staring, but walking away quickly after he passed out. I got up, dragging the guy to the safe house. Then grabbing the other and my now sleeping body. I really needed a body with more strength to make this kind of stuff easier. |"Hey Gray, I got you two new blood fountains."|

|"Most excellent, I'll be by to pick them up in an hour. I'm glad you understand we aren't at war yet, and everything should proceed accordingly. As normal as one might say."|

|"Yeah, yeah. I'm going to kick your bodies in the balls when we start our war though. Each one I capture will have their hips broken, because I'm going to be so pissed at you. Also, you better make damn sure you don't hurt any of my girls more than needed. If you try to use them against me, I will find vampires working with or under you. I will make them talk, and I will find a way to make you suffer more than they ever did. Am. I. Clear?"|

|"Thank you for the bodies Argus. I look forward to seeing the things you'll come up with while we fight."|